BUCKEYE, Ariz. — It has been nearly a year since the body of 16-year-old Anaiah Walker was found along the I-10 median in Buckeye. Now, police have released new information about the car believed to have killed her.
Walker was found on May 22, 2020, after police say she ran away from her group home in December 2019.
Investigators determined that she was hit by a car that fled the scene.
“She was murdered,” Adrian Walker, Anaiah Walker's father, said.
Adrian Walker said that that he believes the hit-and-run was on purpose.
Anaiah Walker was 13 years old when she ran away from home the first time. While she was gone, Adrian Walker said, she was trafficked.
He said that the next three years were tough for his daughter but he remembers her great sense of humor and rebellious streak.
“To have that phone call. That your child was found dead in a ditch...There's no real way to explain it, no real way to honestly explain this,” Adrian Walker said.
Officially, the Buckeye Police Department is calling the incident a death investigation. It is unknown who the driver of the car was or if there was a motive.
Given new evidence found on the scene, investigators believe the suspect vehicle is likely a midnight burgundy Honda Civic made between 2016 and 2018.
If you have any information about this case, you’re asked to contact Buckeye police at 623-349-6400.
You can also remain anonymous by calling the department’s tip line at 623-349-6411 or emailing bpdtips@buckeyeaz.gov.